Forbidden To Love

By: Debbie Davies

An Erosian Novel

Book One

Under The Burning Sun

~1~

Helios, I salute you, the heat is heaven worthy this lunch break! It is so warm I've had to lose the super-sized hoody that I usually hide myself away in. I love these kinds of days when they arrive. Basking in this warmth makes living this unbearable life as an Erosian that bit more bearable.

Yes, I am an Erosian; a bored, lonely, rejected Goddess of Love, who is forced to make teenagers fall in love at high schools. I've been at this one since the start of the summer term. It's just a guess, but I'm betting every school is much the same right? A plain brick building, car park, sports field and somewhere to sit? This school has bleachers where I'm sat now enjoying the good weather.

Judging by how the whole school rushed outside at the first glimpse of sunshine, they don't get much sun here. The field is full of the sports teams, and the stands are packed with an audience. Those not wanting a tan hang out under the trees at the edge of the schools perimeter. Everyone here is doing what they want to do, except me, I'm meant to be working.

There's not much chance of me winning the Love God of the month award. I haven't created a match in weeks. I blame failing, on the fact that this life wasn't the primary plan for me. Teenage sweetheart creator became my life when Eros hated, rejected and dismissed me on sight. The dismissal means my actual purpose of being Eros's ‘love’ is never going to happen. So for now I’m discarded, unwanted and trapped in the human world, forced to play the mortal teenager every day. Instead of being what an Erosian should be.

This substitute life has been going on for nine months. So around a hundred and eighty days have passed since Zeus, the King of Gods, had me created as the third Erosian. An Erosian is Zeus’s flashy title for a slave to Eros.

One of the reasons Eros has a problem with me, is that he never asked for a servant, and he made sure everyone knew that. While being presented, when there should have been smiling and instant love, Eros told me he hated me and that I disgusted him. Once he'd finished with me Zeus got yelled at for his betrayal. I didn’t know this then, but I'm the third Erosian, that's another reason Eros reacted with such repulsion towards me.

Zeus never interrupted Eros's persecution of me. I did wonder if he were a sadist who liked to give Eros the opposite of what he asked for, just to wind him up.

When Eros left, Zeus explained I was an intervention to end Eros's destruction. Turns out Eros had gone through a tough break up, and the mortals bore the brunt of the heartache.

Zeus, the super smart, powerful leader of Olympus, had this backwards idea that if he created Eros a replacement love, the mortals would no longer need to fear his twisted nature.

Well, that was the theory. To start with Zeus ordered the Titan Prometheus to make a goddess to be the Erosian who'd be in love with Eros. When this didn’t work Zeus modified his instructions and created a second and then me.

Zeus hoped for third time lucky. I'm thankful for Zeus's optimism; it's the reason for my creation.

It was decades ago when the earlier Erosian's were crafted. Allana was first and then ten or fifteen years later, along came Amora. The three of us went through the same cycle; meet Eros, make Eros mad, get banished from Olympus. We now live together in the mortal world as one happy family of unwanted love rivals.

After being exiled and dumped on Allana, I expected an unwelcome atmosphere. I'm her rival, even though I don't want to be. When Allana welcomed me, I didn't hope for chilled elixir and canapés.

What I got was Allana's distorted view of the mess we're in, and a few insights to the Erosian life. Allana took the time to explain that Eros sees the Erosians as burdens, so our existence was never going to be the solution to his reign of terror. I'm sure she wanted me to be sympathetic towards Eros, she made out that it's our fault he hates us, because we invaded his life! Well no such luck sister, I didn’t ask for any of this, and I'm damn sure not going to apologize for existing.

Amora didn’t offer any insights into our position, she told me to stay away from her, or she'd remove me from her sights for good. She's never said much to me since then. Conversations with me aren't on her agenda; bitching about everything on the continent though, that is right up her street.